


Bittersweet

by flamehairedwritings



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Christmas Drabbles 2018, Christmas Partttyyyyyyy, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 04:53:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17217362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamehairedwritings/pseuds/flamehairedwritings
Summary: Based on the prompt ‘Character A and Character B broke up, but now they meet at a Christmas party’ by @alloftheprompts on tumblr.





	Bittersweet

* * *

 

 

“What, and I’m reining myself in here, Karen, the  _hell_.”

“Look, okay, it’s not  _that_  bad.”

“’ _Not that bad_ ’?

You stare at your oldest friend incredulously, hands on your hips.

“Karen Wheeler, how is this ‘not that bad’?”

“Okay, well, maybe it is a little, but, wait, hang on,” she loops her arm through yours as you exhale a long breath and start to walk away. “Ted bumped into him and invited him, he wasn’t thinking, he never does.”

You release a low groan as you both walk out of the kitchen, Karen passing you a cup of punch along the way.

“It’s fine. It’s not, but it’s fine. He’s his friend and it’s not like we can exile each other from events.” Taking a long sip of the drink, you both pause at the stairs, taking a seat on a step.

“You might not even have to talk to him, all right,” she tries helpfully, patting your knee. “Just leave a room if he’s in it, you’ll be fine. He never stays at these things for long.”

You hum as you take another sip, leaning your head against the banister. You listen to the other party-goers laughing and dancing in the living room and talking in the kitchen.

Jim Hopper will be one of those voices.

Blowing out a breath, you gaze down at her. “Is he here with anyone?”

Karen glances up at you over the rim of her cup, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly. “No… Why?”

“No reason. Just… Curious,” you mutter.

“Mmhm…”

“Karen.”

“Mmhmm.”

“ _Karen Wheeler_.”

Your own lips twitch as she gazes up at you innocently. “Stop it.  _I_  ended it. So I’m fine. He was never there and, frankly, I’m stunned he’s torn himself away from his desk to come here.”

Karen gives you a chastising look but doesn’t verbally disagree. Patting your knee again, she then uses her grip to push herself up and raises her empty cup. “I am going to get myself another drink and you another drink because you need it and I need it to deal with whatever may happen tonight.”

“I am absolutely down for dealing with this with alcohol. And I’m going to pee.”

“Merry Christmas, sweets.”

“Merry Christmas, toots.”

Watching her totter away on her favourite pair of heels, you smile to yourself as you grab the banister, pulling yourself up. Moving up the stairs, you head to Karen and Ted’s bedroom.

Technically, it’s an out-of-bounds room but Karen has granted you special and private access to their en-suite.

_I love her._

Moving down the hallway, you nod your head along to the song blaring below, most people shouting along to it. Humming along to the words yourself, you place your hand on the door handle to their bedroom and push it open.

You wonder if Karen’s still got that hand lotion that feels like—

You come to an abrupt halt as your eyes lift and land on Chief Jim Hopper.

He’s half-turned away from you, his hands lifted, frozen, either buttoning up or unbuttoning his shirt, his eyes fixed on you.

You stare at him, your lips parted.

_Oh, Jesus Christ._

Neither of you speak, and you both seem to realise the silence is lingering at the same time.

“Hi—”

“Ted said I could—”

“Sorry, you were—”

“No, you— Ted said I could change in here.”

“Right.”

Silence falls again.

Your gaze flicks over him swiftly.

_Oh, God, he looks good._

_That’s the drink talking._

Lifting your hands slightly, you graze your teeth over your lower lip. 

“I didn’t know, uhm…” You trail off, your brain swiftly telling your mouth that ‘ _I didn’t know you were going to be here_ ’ sounds rather rude.

He just looks at you, having continued to button his shirt up.

_I used to love unbuttoning that._

_Shut up._

_Say something._

“… Did you just finish work?”

Hopper adjusts his collar as he nods,  _still_  looking at you. “Yeah, ‘bout half an hour ago.”

“Right. Well.” You smile quickly and point in the direction of the en-suite. “I’m just gonna use the bathroom.”

Closing the door behind you, you start to move across the room.

“You look nice.”

You pause.

_Oh, God._

Turning, you smooth the skirt of your dress down as you give a slight nod, feeling heat rise on your cheeks. “Thank you. This is the dress—”

“You wore at the Station party.”

“Yeah,” you answer, slightly taken aback that he remembers.

“That was a good night.” Hopper slips his hands into his pockets, taking a few steps closer.

Your lips twitch as you suddenly recall exactly how that evening ended, your cheeks heating. Clearing your throat, you nod, clasping your hands in front of you. “Yeah, it was. Seems like a million years ago.”

“Mhm. I think about it a lot.” He’s only a step away from you now,  _still staring_.

You inhale a quiet, slightly ragged breath. “Hopper—”

“I think about you a lot, sweetheart.”

“Oh, really?” You arch an eyebrow. “You were always thinking about me and never seeing me.”

“You try’na hurt my feelings, baby? On Christmas Eve?” He raises an eyebrow, too, tilting his head slightly.

“Just giving you a taste of your own medicine. You were always hurting my feelings.”

His shoulders drop a little at that, the hint of amusement on his features vanishing. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, you said that a lot, Hopper.” You exhale a breath as you rub your forehead. “Look, I’ve had a couple of drinks so—”

“You wouldn’t be talkin’ to me, otherwise.”

You press your lips together, your gaze dropping. Playing with your hands, you open your mouth to excuse yourself when he speaks, making your eyes lift.

“I am sorry,” he murmurs, his voice gentle. “I know I’ve said it a thousand times and I’ll say it a thousand times more but I know it won’t change things. I know I hurt you. I should’ve done better. You were, you are, incredible and I let you slip through my fingers.”

Your eyes drop again.

Then, you feel his fingers brushing against your cheek before he cups it. You can’t help yourself. 

You tilt your head into his touch, your eyes closing.

Oh, God, you have missed him. When it was good, it was so good. He was funny, caring, gentle. He took you to heaven most nights with how well he knew your body. Even now, you can feel parts of your body stirring, aching to be touched by him once more. He was everything to you, but you’d grown tired.

You’d grown tired of making a dinner and watching it grow cold as you waited for him. You’d grown tired of making dinner reservations and having to cancel them last minute. You’d grown tired of going to bed alone and waking up alone. You’d grown tired of only getting snatches of him. You’d grown tired of feeling like you weren’t worth coming home to.

Lifting your head out of his touch, you meet his gaze.

“Hopper, I can’t…”

“I know.” He smiles faintly as he drops his hand, slipping it back into his pocket.

“I want to, Hopper,” you murmur, gazing at him. “I so want to, I just, I can’t…”

“I know.” He can’t stop himself from brushing his thumb against your chin, and you let him. “I know, sweetheart. I just… I won’t ask for a second chance. I just want us to be able to be in the same room—”

“We can. I’d like that, too.”

Your heart hurts. You can’t step away from him.

You just gaze at each other, his thumb stroking along your jaw.

One corner of his mouth lifts. “Kind’a wish there was some mistletoe hangin’ here right now.”

You exhale a laugh. “What makes you think I’d kiss you, Hopper?”

The other corner of his mouth lifts as he murmurs, his voice low, “You got that look in your eye, sweetheart.”

Your chin lifts a little, your lips twitching. “Still as obnoxious as ever.”

He smiles as his thumb brushes over your lower lip before he lowers his hand. “Call it what you will, baby.”

Taking a step back from him, your smile lingering, you then turn and move to the bathroom.

Then, you pause.

“Hopper?”

“Yeah?” He turns back to you from where he’s headed to the bedroom door, his hand running down his mouth.

You smile gently.

“You should ask for a second chance sometime.”


End file.
